Everything You Need to Know Before Game of Thrones Season 6

Game of Thrones (a.k.a. the most complicated show on TV) is finally returning for season 6. Here's how to prepare yourself.

Warning: Game of Thrones spoilers

Listen closely.

Dun dun, dun-dun-dun-dun, dun-dun-dun-dunn, dun-dun-dun....

Do you hear that?

Dun, dun, dun, dun dun dun, dun, dun....

Do you know what that is? It's the glorious throb of another season of Game of Thrones triumphantly marching its way toward us. Praise the Lord of Light! It's been ten long months, but we're finally going to get transported back to the magical kingdom of Westeros this Sunday, and if the newly released trailer is anything to go by, it's going to be an action-packed season. I mean, look at all those dragons, and swords, and battles! It's going to be freaking awesome. If you're like me, you probably just have one question: Who are these people again?

To help get you up to speed, we've compiled a comprehensive character-by-character recap of everything that went on in season 5. God, this show is complicated.

Jon Snow

Where did we see him last?
Bleeding to death in the courtyard of Castle Black after all his men took turns stabbing.

Why'd they do that?
Because he made an alliance with the Free Folk, and also because they're dicks.

Oh, so he's dead?
Probably. But probably not for long, either. Just before Jon was doubled-crossed, the Red Woman saw that Stannis's vain attempt to take Winterfell from the Boltons was clearly doomed before it even started and preemptively fled to Castle Black. We know she's taken a shine to Jon. With Stannis out of the picture, she's likely looking for a new king to serve. This is just a theory, but the smart money is on her using her blood magic to bring Jon back to life exactly the same way Thoros did with Beric in season 3. Davos will probably pledge his allegiance to Jon, too, because, heck, what else is he going to do?

Phew. Everything is going to be okay.
No, everything is definitely not going to be okay. There is still the problem of the White Walkers to deal with, not to mention the fact Roose Bolton isn't going to be super thrilled when he finds out the undead bastard son of Eddard Stark is hanging out just around the corner from Winterfell with an army of Wildlings and Stannis's former lover/personal sorceress. Also, whenever a dead character has been brought back to life on the show, it hasn't exactly been plain sailing. Beric lost his memories and his sense of identity, Drogo became a vegetable, and Gregor Clegane (a.k.a. The Mountain) is now a big mindless purple Frankenstein. If Melisandre does bring Jon back from the dead, you can bet there will be a price to pay.

Daenerys

Where did we see her last?
Surrounded by Dothraki bloodriders on the side of some random hill.

How did that happen again?
The Sons of the Harpy launched a surprise attack on Daenerys during the reopening of the Meereenian fighting pits. They killed her husband and had her, Jorah, Daario, Tyrion, and Missandei surrounded when Drogon—Daenerys's up-until-then-missing dragon—swooped in to fuck shit up and save the day. Daenerys was able to escape on Drogon's back, but she's never really been able to control him, so there was nothing she could do when he took her north and left her stranded on top of a mountain while he recovered from his wounds.

Will she get back?
Hopefully. Daario (her current lover) and Jorah (her disgraced former bodyguard) have already headed north to rescue her, while Tyrion and the eunuch Varys hold down the fort in Meereen. But Jorah is also secretly suffering from greyscale, not to mention the fact Daenerys banished him, so it's fair to say that comes with its own complications.

Arya Stark

Where did we see her last?
Writhing around on the floor after her mentor, Jaqen, turned her blind.

Why'd he do that again?
She went rogue and murdered Meryn Trant (the Kingsguard who killed her sword teacher Syrio in season 1) instead of her intended target: the Thin Man.

Will she see again?
Probably. But not before Jaqen is confident whatever cryptic lesson he's trying to teach her this time has gotten through.

Sansa Stark

When did we see her last?
Leaping from the walls of Winterfell with Theon in an attempt to escape her sociopathic husband, Ramsay Bolton.

Suicide pact?
Probably not. The snow is pretty deep, so it's presumably going to break their fall. From there they can hopefully find Brienne of Tarth, who has just killed Stannis in the woods nearby and who also once swore an oath to Catelyn Stark that she would protect Sansa. Oh, and Podrick will probably be there, too. Yay, Podrick!

Cersei Lannister

Where did we see her last?
Walking naked through the streets of King's Landing as an angry mob hurled jeers and insults.

Yikes. How did that happen?
In an attempt to stop her daughter-in-law, (Margaery Tyrell), from gaining too much influence with her son (Tommen, the current king), Cersei had the fundamentalist spiritual leader the High Sparrow appointed as High Septon. He quickly established a kind of religious martial law and used his new powers to arrest Margaery and her brother, Loras (Cersei's fiancé), for a litany of depravities. It blew up in Cersei's face, however, when the High Sparrow also had her arrested for cheating on her then husband, Robert Baratheon, with her own cousin. She confessed her sins, but was still forced to take the walk of shame as penance.

So, now what?
She may have been humiliated, but as you know, Cersei doesn't take anything lying down. Soon after returning home, Qyburn (the creepy former maester who spent most of season 5 doing weird experiments in the basement) introduced Cersei to the newly resurrected Mountain. Qyburn told her Gregor had taken a vow of silence until all her and her family's enemies have been vanquished, so you can bet Cersei and her new half-man-half-zombie killing machine are about to go John McLane on the Great Sept.

More from Game of Thrones

Jaime Lannister

Where did we see him last?
Headed back to King's Landing with his rescued daughter/niece Myrcella.

Finally, something good happens.
Ha ha, nope. As they're sailing away from Dorne, Myrcella collapses and Jaime realizes she was poisoned by Ellaria Sand before they left.

Oh, so does that mean she's...
Yep. Myrcella is almost definitely dead, and unlike Jon Snow and the Mountain, she ain't comin’ back.

What does that mean for the Lannisters?
It means they basically don't have any friends left. Myrcella's engagement to the Dornish prince Trystane was meant to broker a peace between King's Landing and Dorne. Not only is that off, Cersei will undoubtedly be looking for retribution. Similarly, Roose Bolton's eldest son has just married Sansa Stark, so it's safe to assume he's off the Lannister Christmas-card list, too. Finally, Cersei is responsible for the fact both Margaery Tyrell and her brother are rotting away in a jail cell right now, so if the Tyrells were once allies, they won't be for much longer. The only person the Lannisters still think they can trust is Littlefinger, but he's the last person anyone should trust with anything.

Petyr Baelish (a.k.a. Littlefinger)

Where did we see him last?
After handing Sansa to the Boltons, Littlefinger returned to King's Landing under Cersei's orders and was last seen in his brothel, which had just been closed by the High Sparrow.

He must have been pissed.
Nah, he was too busy plotting his ass off. First he used Sansa's marriage to Ramsay (a union he engineered, by the way) to get Cersei to make him the new Warden of the North—if he can get the knights of the Vale (who now fall under his jurisdiction) to run the Boltons out of Winterfell, that is. Then he hatched some kind of plan with Olenna Tyrell (his co-conspirator in the murder of Joffrey). It's not clear what Olenna and Littlefinger are planning, but you can be sure, as always, the eventual outcome won't serve anyone but Littlefinger.

Samwell Tarly

When did we see him last?
Heading to the Citadel with Gilly and baby Sam after the mood in Castle Black turned noticeably hostile.

What's he going to do there?
Train to be a maester, and also use the Citadel's giant library to try and figure out how the Night's Watch can defeat the White Walkers.

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